FinTech Futures Jobs: Did you know a real person might not be reading your CV?

In November last year, Amazon announced plans to lay off hundreds of its recruitment staff. In the wider context of tech layoffs – watchdog site Layoffs.fyi tracked 1,021 tech companies in 2022 which laid off a combined 154,036 workers – this is perhaps not entirely a surprise, but could the company be looking to replace them with AI technology?

Click on the image to see all the vacancies on the Fintech Futures Jobs portal

Vox reports that a leaked memo from the company seen by Recode, tagged “Amazon confidential” and dated back to October of 2021, reveals that Amazon has been creating an in-house AI technology known as Automated Applicant Evaluation (AAE). What AAE reportedly does is predict which job applicants across certain types of jobs will be successful in a given role, and then puts them forward for an interview. The issue? It does all this without a human recruiter’s involvement.

A certain proportion of non-human intervention is nothing new in recruitment: more and more employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen CVs. One survey from OnGig, which identified the ATS’ of 476 of the US’ largest employers, found that 22.6% use Workday and 22.4% use Taleo’s software. Oracle’s suite, which includes Oracle HRMS, iRecruitment and Oracle Cloud, is used by 24% of Fortune 500 companies.

So what is an ATS? Put simply, it is software designed to scan CVs for specific keywords and weed out the resumes that don’t match with the description of the job being applied for. ATS systems on their own often cause job applicants to fall at the first hurdle, because if you don’t get the keywords right, your CV gets washed out of the process and you go no further, no matter how good you may be at the actual job.

Fairness

According to Aptitude Research, more than 60% of companies increased their investment in talent acquisition technology in 2021. 88% of companies globally already use AI in some way for other HR functions, including chatbots and providing recommendations for learning and training to employees.

Proponents of AI technology point out that it enables companies to streamline their hiring practices. Time-pressed hiring professionals can miss out on huge talent pools of qualified candidates thanks to the sheer size of the internet, and the vast number of ways that exist to find and acquire talent. AI tools can reduce costs, speed up the process, help to identify more qualified candidates and can often be integrated directly into their existing ATS software too.

However, the issue of fairness is one that arises time and time again from those who are AI-skeptic. Amazon was forced to pull a previous AI system in 2017 around allegations of bias against women, according to Reuters.

The firm’s computer models had reportedly been trained using CVs submitted over a 10-year period. The issue?  Most of those resumes had come from men, reflecting the existing gender split in the tech industry, and therefore creating a confirmation bias.

Like all technology though, AI has moved onwards. The recent breakout success of ChatGPT by AI company Open.ai has caused many in the industry to sit up and take note. Microsoft is now reportedly set to invest $10 billion in the company as part of a funding round that will bring Open.ai’s valuation to $29 billion.

And, according to Mercer, 44% of companies already use AI tools to identify the best candidates based on publicly available data, such as their social media profiles. Another 40% use the technology to screen and assess candidates during recruitment.

It is clear that AI-driven recruitment processes are here to stay, so now that you know what you’re up against in 2023’s hiring market, we’re taking a look at some jobs to apply for below, with plenty more to check out on the Fintech Futures Job Board.

Engineering Manager, Zilch UK, London

Zilch allows customers to pay using either reward-earning debit or interest-free credit, anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Europe’s fastest-ever company to go from Series A to double-unicorn status, it is looking for an Engineering Manager to lead agile teams to implement features that deliver significant impact and take ownership for overall delivery cadence and quality. You’ll need a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree plus three years’ experience leading and managing software engineering teams. Get the full job description here.

Project Manager (Fintech), HR Global Partners, London

HR Global Partners is seeking an ambitious Technical Project Manager for a client’s team. You will work closely with a team of developers, analysts, product-owners and clients to ensure the delivery of the product roadmap and establish a culture of quality. You’ll need five years of experience as a technical project manager or programme manager in a highly technical environment and experience within finance services. Get all the information here.

EMEA Data Governance Tooling Lead, Citi, London

Citi is looking for an EMEA Data Governance Tooling Lead with strong experience of managing adoption of data governance tools. The role will require familiarity with a variety of project management approaches and interaction with senior programme leads and sponsors, products and functions globally. Apply for this role now.

For thousands more opportunities in fintech, visit the Fintech Futures Job Board today.

About the author:

Kirstie works for our job board partner, Jobbio.

Based in Dublin, she has been a writer and editor across print and digital platforms for over 15 years.